Thursday, May 13, 2010

Step 5.1 - Gary's Story

Okay, so Step Five is to "Take a day or two and write up a one-page description of each major character and a half-page description of the other important characters. These "character synopses" should tell the story from the point of view of each character." I've basically taken this as a way of saying "write the story from the character's PoV in about a page". Honestly, I think this has been some of the most fun I've ever had writing.

Gary's Story
Except that I was an orphan who looked after my younger brother from when my parents died - army mission gone bad, y'know? - I had always been a pretty normal kid, I guess, except for around electronics - they'd always acted a bit weirdly, turning off, changing songs and channels, and so on. But then one day, a transformer fully fucking exploded above my head - a shower of sparks, and suddenly I'm screaming in pain and trying to put my clothes out while Mindy calls nine-one-one. And as if that wasn't crazy enough? When I get out of the hospital, I start having these almost super-powers - like I can control electricity or something. I think Jesse's the only one who believed me, so I just kind of ignored at first, but... well, then the Bus Incident happened.
Okay, so I'm on the bus to go see Mindy at work one day, and this baby just won't shut the fuck up. And I'm pissed, too, but this one dude pulls a fucking gun on the kid, stops the bus, and starts pacing up and down the aisle, screaming and ranting and raving about nothing really in particular, so I decide to use my powers for good, y'know? With great power comes great responsibility and all that. I grab the guy's gun arm and point it down, and try to give him a tiny jolt - but then the fucker shoots me in the leg! I don't know if he convulsed and pulled the trigger or what, but I scream, and next thing I know, dude's dead - heart attack, apparently - the gas tank at the back of the bus goes boom, and no-one but me knows what the fuck just went down.
So then I guess I knew what I needed to do; I told Jesse about everything, and got him to help me train. I started shooting pop cans off the fence, charging dead batteries, making things go snap-crackle-pop!, that sort of shit. But then Jesse decides that I should work on my form - that's what he calls it, fucking Karate Kid over here - and tapes me one day. But somehow it got on YouTube, and the whole fucking world thinks I'm a marvel with CG, which isn't so bad considering the reality, y'know?
But then the Government comes, two dudes in suits, and says that they've seen the video, they know what happened on the bus, know I didn't mean to, all sorts of shit like that. I show off a bit for them - shoot a couple bolts, make some nuts and bolts crackle and pop in my hand - and then comes the kicker - the bastards tell me that they want me to be a "super soldier", "just like my Mom and Dad" - the just want me under their thumb, killing me for them! I got so flustered - so angry - that I raised my hand, and out came a bolt of lightning... he was dead within seconds, from what I was told, whatever his name was.
The General - the one 'in charge of me', whatever that meant - left without saying a single word once that happened, carrying the other dude's still-smoking body slung over his shoulder as if he was just sleeping. The next day, the same guy - Reeves, I think his name is, and I'm pretty sure he was wearing a fucking rubber wetsuit! - and gave me an ultimatum - if I wanted the murder charge off my chest, I would accept their job offer within a week; otherwise, I would be jailed - "or worse". His words, not mind. I knew right away that any government who would let a bully get away with what he wanted - and that's what they'd reduced me to in their minds, y'know? - could only really be told where, exactly, they could shove the pointy end of their "job offer", but I told him that I'd think about it.
For the next six days, I worked myself - and Jesse - harder than ever before; I barely slept, and I don't think he did, really, either; he began to seem distant, and I'd catch him looking at me like he barely even knew me before he shook his head and was back to being good ol' Jesse.
On Day Seven - the day I knew General Man would be returning - I told Jesse my plan.
I was going out with a bang; they had all of a week before I would blast my way into their evil lair - or the Pentagon, whatever the fuck you wanted to call it - and explode. I knew I could do it - I'm a human-fucking-firing pin, for Chrissake! It was a matter of gathering materials and then bam. Ground-Fucking-Zero. They would deserve it. Jesse helped me gather the materials, usually volunteering to go out for me so that I could stay inside, where it was less likely the Government would be able to find me - I guess I was just lucky that our basement had a fairly comfortable crawlspace that was well-hidden, eh? - and on the day I knew that they would be in session - probably complaining about not being able to find me, the idiots - I dyed my hair, put on glasses, and went with Jesse to the Pentagon.
As the first Security Guard realized who I was, and pulled out his gun and shot me - I have to give him credit, it would have hit me if I hadn't zapped it in mid-air - I felt a cold sensation in my back, and then could feel the electricity moving from my arm and into my heart, the place I'd always guarded from it... but now it had a metal spike guiding it, not my powers.
Jesse. The fucker was crying as I fell, trying to ask him what he was doing. They'd gotten to him, and turned him against me. I died, at the age of twenty, trying to improve my country and expose the corruption in our government.
Go fucking figure.

Okay, so that was a lot of fun to write - but I want to ask a couple questions, if you've read everything up to this point.

Firstly, who's the bad guy? Who's the good guy? I'm curious if anyone has any strong views on this - I've been trying to make everyone as neutral as possible, which is why I wanted to name this either Morally Gray or Shades of Gray.

Secondly, do you think I did a good job of showing his deteriorating sense of reality and growing sense of paranoia, as Gary's Story went on?

2 comments:

  1. morally gray is a more ambiguous title. fits the story's theme in general.

    and yes to the second question.

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  2. Bad guy is Jesse. Or the Government. Or both

    Good guy is Gary. But could also be Jesse acting from a sese of duty to his country, being brainwashed by hte govenment, and so on.

    Morally Gray gets my vote.

    and yes to second question.

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